Shopping cart

ABSTRACT

The invention recites a child carrier comprising a seat portion including a seat, a backrest, and a floor. The child carrier further includes a substantially rigid body, at least partially surrounding and supporting the seat portion. The rigid body also includes substantially solid side surfaces and at least partially defines a panel. In addition, the child carrier provides a plurality of wheels supporting the body, and an electronic device supported by the body.

RELATED APPLICATION DATA

[0001] This is a continuation-in-part patent application of co-pendingU.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/113,310 filed on Mar. 29, 2002,which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] The present invention relates to child carriers, and particularlyto formed or molded child carriers having seats for children. Moreparticularly, the present invention relates to formed or molded childcarriers that provide entertainment for children.

[0003] Child carriers include strollers, shopping carts, attachments toshopping carts, and molded carts commonly used at super markets, homecenter stores, retail stores, theme parks and zoos. Each year thousandsof children are injured in shopping cart, as well as other retailstroller, accidents. Generally, the child becomes bored with theshopping experience and tries to get out of the child carrier. A fallout of a carrier can cause severe injury. In addition, injuries occurwhen the child pinches his or her fingers in the moving mechanism of atypical seat or when the child reaches out of the carrier to grabsomething.

[0004] Many child carriers are simply wire or plastic mesh constructionsthat function as containers to carry consumer goods through a store andsecondarily provide a seat for a child. Many of these carriers provideseats that are both uncomfortable and easy to escape. If a child becomesbored or uncomfortable, the chances for injury increase. In addition,many of the seats fold or utilize moving pieces that can easily pinch asmall child's fingers.

[0005] Many child carriers also employ a seat that attaches to apre-existing cart making the cart/carrier combination larger and heavierthan typical child carriers, thus requiring more effort to push andmaneuver the cart/carrier combination. Some of these carriers providerearward looking seats that in many cases make it difficult for thechild to observe where the carrier is going.

[0006] Other child carriers provide a more comfortable seat but stillprovide nothing to entertain the child. The child therefore has thetendency to become restless, potentially injuring himself or herself ormisbehaving, making shopping more difficult. For example, child carriersused in commercial settings such as shopping malls and in entertainmentsettings such as zoos and theme parks are often shaped to pique thechild's interest but once inside the child quickly becomes bored makingthe shopping or entertainment experience less enjoyable for the adult.

SUMMARY

[0007] According to the present invention a child carrier provides aseat portion including a seat, a backrest, and a floor. The childcarrier further includes a substantially rigid body at least partiallysurrounding and supporting the seat portion. The rigid body alsoincludes substantially solid side surfaces and at least partiallydefines a panel. In addition, the child carrier provides a plurality ofwheels supporting the body, and an electronic device supported by thebody.

[0008] In another embodiment of the present invention, a child carrierprovides a substantially rigid basket including a front wall, a rearwall, two side walls, and a base. The child carrier further includes abody defining a basket portion, a seat portion, and a push portion, thebasket disposed substantially within the basket portion. In addition,the child carrier provides a plurality of wheels supporting the body andthe basket, and an electronic device coupled to the body.

[0009] In preferred embodiments, the child carrier includes one or moreheadphone jacks that receive a signal from the electronic device. Inaddition, the electronic device is radio, a video display device, acomputer, or video game player, or the like. Further, the electronicdevice in many preferred embodiments is interactive allowing the childto play and interact with the device.

[0010] In other preferred embodiments, the seat portion is disposedbetween the basket portion and the push portion such that the seat isabove the base of the basket. In addition, in preferred embodiments, afirst side wall, a second side wall, a rear wall, the panel and the rearwall of the basket substantially surround the seat and the floor.

[0011] Additional features and advantages will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon consideration of the following detaileddescription of preferred embodiments exemplifying the best mode ofcarrying out the invention as presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] The detailed description particularly refers to the accompanyingfigures in which:

[0013]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cart in accordance with theinvention having an electronic device;

[0014]FIG. 2 is a rear view of the cart of FIG. 1, showing anotherlocation for the electronic device;

[0015]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the seat portion of the cart ofFIG. 1, showing another location for the electronic device;

[0016]FIG. 4 is an exploded view of the cart of FIG. 1;

[0017]FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the cart of FIG. 1 having an openrear portion;

[0018]FIG. 6 is a section view of two nested carts in accordance withthe present invention; and

[0019]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another child carrier inaccordance with the invention, having an electronic device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020]FIGS. 1 and 4 illustrate a shopping cart 5 in accordance with theinvention, the cart 5 includes a plurality of wheels 10, a basket 15, abody 20, and a push bar 25. The wheels 10, or castors, engage the body20 and support the cart 5 on the ground. The push bar 25 engages a rearportion 30 of the body 20 providing a convenient surface to push andsteer the cart 5. The basket 15 is supported and partially surrounded bythe body 20.

[0021] The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4 uses four wheels 10located near the extreme corners of the body 20 to support the cart 5.The wheels 10 are fairly standard in the industry, and therefore notcritical to the invention. The wheels 10 are placed apart from oneanother to ensure that the cart 5 remains stable even when loaded withmerchandise and children. The embodiment of FIG. 1 employs four wheels10, other embodiments use only three, while still others use five, sixour even more wheels 10. Generally, the rear wheels 10 are aligned andfixed so that they rotate about a common axis. The front wheels 10 onthe other hand are generally free to pivot allowing a front portion 35of the cart 5 to easily maneuver through the narrow aisles commonlyfound in grocery stores and the like. Other embodiments use wheelarrangements in which all of the wheels 10 are pivotable allowing for amore maneuverable cart 5.

[0022] The basket 15 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 4 has a base 40, a frontwall 45, a rear wall 50, and two sidewalls 55. A plurality of lateraland transverse wires 57 cross one another to define each wall 45, 50, 55and the base 40. The wires 57 firmly connect to one another using knownattachment processes (e.g., welding, soldering, brazing, adhesives,mechanical fasteners, and the like). The wires 57 are preferably, steelor aluminum, but, other embodiments can use other materials (e.g.,magnesium, titanium or other metals, composites, or plastics).Generally, the wires 57 are painted or coated with a material to preventinjury and to protect the wires 57 from damage. In one embodiment, thefour walls 45, 50, 55, and base 40 are made together as a singlecomponent. A plurality of U-shaped wires 58 are arranged laterally andtransversely to completely define the base 40 and to define the verticalwires of the walls 45, 50, 55. A plurality of ring-shaped wires 59intertwine with the U-shaped wires 58 to complete the basket 15. Thewires 58, 59 are attached to one another or to a basket frame tocomplete the one-piece basket 15. Other embodiments employ multiplepieces to complete a basket 15. For example, an embodiment that requiresa pivotable rear wall 50 would require the rear wall 50 be madeseparately from the remainder of the basket 15. It is thus contemplatedthat the basket 15 can be assembled from any number of individualcomponents. It should also be noted that while a wire mesh basket 15 isshown and discussed herein, the invention will function equally wellwith a solid basket or a basket 15 formed from sheets of plastic ratherthan wires 57. For example, multiple sheets of plastic formed in anycommon manner can be attached to one another at adjacent edges to definea basket 15. In this example each wall 45, 50, 55 along with the base 40would be separate components attached to one another to complete thebasket 15.

[0023] The basket 15 fits within an opening 60 defined by the body 20.The front portion 35 of the body 20 is shaped to accept the basket 15therein while providing support to the basket 15. The body defines sidewalls that at least partially cover the side walls of the basket. Inpreferred constructions, the side walls cover at least about 10 percentof the surface area of each of the basket sides. In more preferredconstructions, the side walls of the body cover at least about 40percent of the surface area of the basket sides. Once installed, thebasket 15 is fixedly attached to the body 20. FIG. 4 illustrates onepossible attachment mechanism. In FIG. 4 a brace 65 extends across thebottom of the body 20 to partially support the front wheels 10. Ahook-shaped bolt 70 engages the wires 57 of the base 40 of the basket 15and extends through a hole in the brace 65. A nut (not shown) threadsonto the end of the hook-shaped bolt 70 fixedly attaching the basket 15to the body 20. In another embodiment (not shown), bolts and washersextend through the wires 57 of the base 40 of the basket 15. The washersengage the basket 15 while the bolts engage the body 20 firmly clampingthe basket 15 to the body 20. In still another embodiment, the basket 15simply sits in the basket opening 60 provided by the body 20. In thisembodiment, the basket 15 can be removed easily to facilitate storage,nesting of the carts, or delivery of groceries or other products to avehicle or home.

[0024] The body 20 defines the front portion 35, a seat portion 75, andthe rear portion 30. The front portion 35 defines the basket opening 60in which the basket 15 sits when the components are assembled. The seatregion 75, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, is disposed above and behindthe front portion 35 and further includes a seat 80, a back wall 85, afloor 90, and two sidewalls 95 that are arranged such that the seatportion 75 faces toward the front of the cart, as illustrated in FIGS. 1and 3-7. In addition, a rear kick panel 100 extends from the floor 90 tothe seat 80. The seat 80 is sized to support two small children in theseated position. The seat 80, along with the back wall 85, supports thechildren while the sidewalls 95 obstruct their exit from the cart 5. Thechildren's legs extend into a chamber 105 defined by the two side walls95, the rear wall 50 of the basket 15, and the rear kick panel 100. Thechamber 105 thus completely surrounds the child's legs further enhancingthe safety of the cart 5.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 3, the seat portion 75 further includes a panel110 attached to the basket 15 or in some embodiments to the body 20. Tofurther contain the child and to provide for entertainment, the panel110 is disposed such that it would be immediately in front of a childseated in the seat 80. Electronic devices 115, which will be discussedin more detail below, can be attached to or disposed in the front panel110 to entertain the child. In addition, some embodiments employ seatbelts (not shown) that allow the shopper to strap the child to the seat80 if desired. In some constructions, the panel 110 can be removablyattached to the cart. The removability would allow the cart owner toremove and securely store the panels 110 if they contain an electronicdevice. In addition, the removability would allow for easier maintenanceand changes to the electronic device.

[0026] Many processes and materials are available to manufacture thebody 20, but the preferred technique involves the use of a rotomoldedplastic. Rotomolding allows the body 20 to be manufactured as asubstantially rigid single piece rather than multiple pieces,eliminating weaknesses and reducing cost. Other embodiments useprocesses such as injection molding and hot forming. In addition, whileit is important to manufacture a lightweight body, other embodiments usematerials other than plastic. For example, fiberglass or othercomposites are light and provide sufficient strength and durability andtherefore would be suitable material substitutes. While it is preferablethat the body 20 be made in a single operation, other embodiments employseveral sections manufactured separately and then assembled to oneanother to complete the body 20.

[0027] As illustrated herein, the body is generally formed to resemblean object (e.g., race car, rocket, air craft, boat, dinasour, and thelike) that may be familiar to a child. The body generally includes apaint scheme, decals, or other accoutrements that further enhance thedesired theme. These bodies that are formed to resemble a themegenerally enhance the child's experience and make the shoppingexperience more enjoyable for the shopper.

[0028]FIG. 1 illustrates an assembled shopping cart 5 in accordance withthe invention. The body 20 covers a portion of the sides 55 of thebasket 15 but leaves the front 45 and the top 117 open. In anotherembodiment, the body 20 extends around the basket 15 substantiallycovering all the walls 45, 50, 55 leaving only the top 117 fullyexposed.

[0029] To further entertain children seated in the seat portion 75 ofthe cart 5, some embodiments of the invention provide one or moresteering wheels 120 attached to the panel 110 to allow the child to playduring the shopping experience. In addition, other embodiments includeone or more electronic devices 115 specially suited to the child'sneeds. For example, one embodiment provides two headphone jacks withinthe cart 5. The jacks connect to a radio receiver tuned to the frequencyof the store's internal broadcast or to any desired frequency. The childcan thus listen to music, stories, or other entertainment provided bythe store through the headphones without the sound disturbing otherpatrons. As one having ordinary skill in the art will realize,headphones can be used for the audio output of any device describedherein. In yet another embodiment, a video display is provided inaddition to the audio device previously described. The video displayreceives a broadcast from within the store, over the airwaves, or iscoupled to a video cassette recorder, digital videodisk (DVD) player, orthe like to allow the display of any entertainment desired. In stillanother embodiment, a computer or video game is coupled to the cart 5 ina position that allows a seated child to interact. A joystick or otherinteractive device can be coupled to the body 20 of the cart 5 to allowthe child to interact. In addition, the steering wheels 120, describedabove can be interconnected with the game to provide input if desired. Aperson skilled in the art will realize that many commercially availabletechnologies (e.g., flat screens, plasma screens, closed-circuittelevision, MP3 players, computers, and the like) can be adapted to thecart 5 or child carrier of the present invention to provideentertainment for children. Small rechargeable batteries 122 hiddenwithin the cart 5 can power many, if not all, of these technologies.

[0030] In addition to the above-described devices, another embodiment ofthe cart 5, shown in FIG. 2, employs a small computer (e.g., PDA,calculator, micro-computer, etc.) powered by a rechargeable battery 122.The computer is supported by the cart 5 in a position that allows theshopper to easily view the display. The computer can be used as acalculator to aid the shopper, or can be programmed with locations ofvarious products within the store, or shopping center, to aid theshopper in locating desired products. In another embodiment (not shown),the computer is coupled to a portable bar code reader allowing theshopper to scan products as they are placed in the cart 5. This greatlyaids the shopper in maintaining a budget, and allows a shopper to reviewitems placed in the cart 5 on the computer screen rather than having tosearch through the various products within the basket 15.

[0031]FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the invention in which anelectronic device 115 is provided in a child carrier 125 suitable forcarrying children in a retail or other shopping environment. The childcarrier 125 does not have a basket like the carts 5 of the previousembodiments but rather performs the function of carrying andentertaining the child. The child carrier 125 has a seat region 130having a push bar 135, a seat 140, and a steering wheel 145, surroundedby the body 150. The body 150 is supported by a plurality of wheels 155.The electronic device 115 is disposed within the body 150 and supportedsuch that children seated within the child carrier 125 can easily accessand interact with the electronic device 115. For example, the device 115could be a television monitor that receives a signal from within thestore. The monitor could display cartoons, stories, or educationalprograms that are of interest to young children. Other embodiments ofthe child carrier 125 include a basket (not shown) to aid the shopper.The basket could be hung from the push bar 135 or supported in someother convenient manner.

[0032] In another embodiment (not shown), the body is shaped to resemblean animal and the child carrier is used in a zoo or carnival setting.The electronic device 115 could be a radio receiver able to pick up abroadcast emanating from within the zoo. Further, the radio receivercould receive a different signal based on its location allowing, theaudio to describe the particular animals in the area.

[0033] As a person having ordinary skill in the art will realize, manyelectronic devices can be adapted to operate within a child carrier 125or cart 5 as described herein. In addition, a person having ordinaryskill in the art will realize that an electronic device as describedherein can be adapted to fit within any molded body commonly used inchild carriers. In addition, child carriers that use tubular frames mayemploy electronic devices disposed within a formed panel or piece thatattaches to the child carrier. Thus, the present invention should not belimited to only those embodiments described herein.

[0034] Although the invention has been described in detail withreference to certain preferred embodiments, variations and modificationsexist within the scope and spirit of the invention as described anddefined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A shopping cart having a front and a back andconfigured to carry a rider, the shopping cart comprising: a molded bodydefining a basket portion and a seat portion, the seat portion formed toorient the rider in a forward-looking position; a basket at leastpartially disposed within the basket portion and defining a bottom, thebottom positioned substantially in front of and below the seat portion;a frame coupled to the molded body; and a plurality of wheels coupled tothe frame.
 2. The shopping cart of claim 1, wherein the seat portionincludes a rear wall, a first side wall, and a second side wall, eachwall being at least partially defined by the molded body.
 3. Theshopping cart of claim 2, further comprising a panel coupled to themolded body to define a front wall of the seat chamber.
 4. The shoppingcart of claim 1, wherein the molded body is formed from a material thatincludes plastic.
 5. The shopping cart of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof wheels includes six wheels.
 6. The shopping cart of claim 1, whereinthe basket includes a first basket side and a second basket side and themolded body includes a first body side and a second body side, the firstbody side disposed in a covering relationship with at least a portion ofthe first basket side and the second body side disposed in a coveringrelationship with at least a portion of the second basket side.
 7. Theshopping cart of claim 6, wherein the first body side covers at leastabout 10 percent of the first basket side and the second body sidecovers at least about 10 percent of the second basket side.
 8. Theshopping cart of claim 6, wherein the first body side covers at leastabout 40 percent of the first basket side and the second body sidecovers at least about 40 percent of the second basket side.
 9. Theshopping cart of claim 1, wherein the basket includes a wire-mesh basketsupported by the body.
 10. The shopping cart of claim 9, wherein thebasket is fixedly attached to the body.
 11. The shopping cart of claim1, wherein the body is formed to resemble a theme.
 12. A shopping cartcomprising: a body defining a front, a rear, a seat portion, and abasket portion; a seat back at least partially defining the seatportion, the seat back oriented such that the seat faces the front; abasket at least partially disposed within the basket portion, the basketdefining a basket bottom disposed below the seat back; and at leastthree wheels coupled to the body.
 13. The shopping cart of claim 12,wherein the body is molded from a plastic material.
 14. The shoppingcart of claim 12, wherein the seat back is integrally formed as part ofthe body.
 15. The shopping cart of claim 12, further comprising a panelcoupled to the body, the panel and the seat back cooperating to at leastpartially define the seat portion.
 16. The shopping cart of claim 15,wherein the panel is selectively removable from the body.
 17. Theshopping cart of claim 12, wherein the basket includes a wire-meshbasket supported by the body.
 18. The shopping cart of claim 17, whereinthe basket is fixedly attached to the body.
 19. The shopping cart ofclaim 12, wherein the basket includes a first basket side and a secondbasket side and the body includes a first body side and a second bodyside, the first body side disposed in a covering relationship with atleast a portion of the first basket side and the second body sidedisposed in a covering relationship with at least a portion of thesecond basket side.
 20. The shopping cart of claim 19, wherein the firstbody side covers at least about 10 percent of the first basket side andthe second body side covers at least about 10 percent of the secondbasket side.
 21. The shopping cart of claim 19, wherein the first bodyside covers at least about 40 percent of the first basket side and thesecond body side covers at least about 40 percent of the second basketside.
 22. The shopping cart of claim 12, wherein the body is formed tosubstantially resemble a theme.
 23. A shopping cart comprising: a bodydefining a front, a rear, a seat portion, and a basket portion; a seatback at least partially defining the seat portion, the seat backpositioned adjacent the rear and oriented such that the seat portionfaces the front; a basket at least partially disposed within the basketportion, the basket portion positioned adjacent the front; and at leastthree wheels coupled to the body.
 24. The shopping cart of claim 23,wherein the body is molded from a plastic material.
 25. The shoppingcart of claim 23, wherein the seat back is integrally formed as part ofthe body.
 26. The shopping cart of claim 23, further comprising a panelcoupled to the body, the panel and the seat back cooperating to at leastpartially define the seat portion.
 27. The shopping cart of claim 26,wherein the panel is selectively removable from the body.
 28. Theshopping cart of claim 23, wherein the basket includes a wire-meshbasket supported by the body.
 29. The shopping cart of claim 28, whereinthe basket is fixedly attached to the body.
 30. The shopping cart ofclaim 23, wherein the body is formed to substantially resemble a theme.31. A shopping cart comprising: a molded plastic body defining a front,a rear, a basket portion adjacent the front, and a seat chamber adjacentthe rear, the seat chamber defining a substantially rectangularperimeter including a rear wall, a first side wall, and a second sidewall, each of the walls at least partially defined by the molded plasticbody; a panel coupled to the molded body to at least partially define afront wall of the seat chamber; a basket at least partially disposedwithin the basket portion; a frame coupled to the molded body; and aplurality of wheels coupled to the frame.
 32. The shopping cart of claim31, wherein the seat portion is oriented to face the front.
 33. Theshopping cart of claim 31, wherein the rear wall, the first side wall,and the second side wall are integrally formed as part of the body. 34.The shopping cart of claim 31, wherein the panel is selectivelyremovable from the body.
 35. The shopping cart of claim 31, wherein thebasket includes a wire-mesh basket supported by the body.
 36. Theshopping cart of claim 35, wherein the basket is fixedly attached to thebody.
 37. The shopping cart of claim 31, wherein the molded plastic bodyis formed to resemble a theme.